Pre-formed and packaged plastic shower cabinet units are currently used extensively and they have, in many instances, replaced the older type tub and ceramic tile shower enclosures. The ready-to-assemble shower cabinet units typically have a shower enclosure assembly, a shower base, and a shower door; and the unit can be quickly installed into a roughed-in-location or replace an existing unit.
A problem has existed when side drainage from the shower cabinet unit is required. Shower cabinet units normally are provided with a shower base having a center drain. This is acceptable if the shower cabinet can be installed directly over a floor drain. For side drainage, the waste water is collected from the conventional central drain and transported through a side wall to a drain outside the confines of the shower unit. In situations where the shower unit was installed other than directly over a floor drain, the shower base had to be elevated on an additional frame or a special elevated shower base had to be purchased.
The customer, retailer and manufacturer are inconvenienced by the prior art methods and apparatus for side drainage from shower bases. The customer must make or purchase an elevated shower base which is aesthetically unappealing, which is considerably more expensive, and which requires additional support and reinforcement. The retailer must stock both the regular center drain shower base and the elevated side drain shower base. The manufacturer's costs are increased because the elevated shower base requires a different size container, and fewer side drain shower bases can be shipped or stored.
Another problem with prior shower cabinet units has been with the shower enclosure. Typically, a shower enclosure has two side panels, a back panel, and a shower door. The side and back panels are secured uprightly in the shower base and to each other thereby forming a partial enclosure. The shower door is pivotally mounted to one of the side panels to complete the enclosure.
Prior art shower enclosures that are mounted into the shower base are costly because of the ratio of weight to interior size. The side and back panels are normally thick plastic so that they can stand upright with little or no reinforcement. The panels have not heretofore provided maximum interior space and light weight. Exemplary of such prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,606,617; 3,895,398; and 3,551,918.
Thus, the present invention relates to a shower cabient unit having an improved shower base and an improved shower enclosure.